


Sleep, O Andromeda

by LiterallyThePresident



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Family Feels, Grief/Mourning, Hypnos’ family loves him, Sacrifice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:22:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28729596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiterallyThePresident/pseuds/LiterallyThePresident
Summary: When Thanatos is killed, Hypnos takes drastic measures to get him back
Relationships: Hypnos & Nyx (Hades Video Game), Hypnos & Thanatos (Hades Video Game), Hypnos & Zagreus (Hades Video Game), Nyx & Thanatos (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 94





	Sleep, O Andromeda

**Author's Note:**

> This was absolutely inspired by the scene in avatar where Yue sacrifices herself and the moon spirit turns her hair black again. I was gonna write more where Hypnos comes back, but then I realized, I’m lazy and exhausted, so whether or not he stays dead is entirely up to reader interpretation. I’m sorry I keep hurting my favorite characters, and make no mistake, Hypnos is my absolute favorite

“Please understand, Lady Nyx.” the shade said mournfully, “We know not what the pool will demand in exchange. It could take your power, your memory, even your life. It is entirely unpredictable, are you certain you wish to use it to revive Lord Thanatos?”

“I will do what I must to return my son to me.” Nyx said solemnly, not tearing her red-rimmed eyes from Thanatos’ empty body floating listlessly in the Pool of Persephone, the only way to resurrect a fallen god. For a price. “No matter the cost.”

“I still think I should pay the price.” Zagreus murmured despite knowing it was a lost cause, haunted by the memory of Thanatos’ limp body surfacing in the Pool of the Styx, unable to shake the phantom sensation of his dead weight as he hauled him out and cried out for his father for the first time in ages. Nyx predictably shook her head, tearing her eyes from the pool to meet Zagreus’ gaze. 

“He is my son.” she said as Megaera exchanged quiet words with the shade before sending it away, the shade bowing respectfully and sending them one last worried glance before leaving, “His life is mine to barter for. Whatever the pool wishes in exchange for him, I alone will provide.”

“We should be searching for the mortal that did this.” Hypnos was standing by the shore of the pool, gazing down at Thanatos’ peaceful expression with something indecipherable in his eyes, his voice quiet yet full of dark promise, “I’d like to have a few words with them.” Nyx seized Hypnos’ arm, yanking him back from the shore a touch rougher than her usual grace, earning a startled yelp from her son.

“Hypnos, keep your distance.” she cautioned him sternly, her grip tight on his arm in a way that spoke of fear, an unwillingness to lose another child so soon, “If you get too close it may harm you, or your brother.”

“It’s okay.” Hypnos chirped, his smile not reaching his eyes as he turned to look at her, “I wouldn’t jeopardize Than like that, I promise. I just... I don’t want any of my family to be hurt...” Nyx sighed softly, loosening her grip on his arm to something more gentle. 

“You must be more careful, little one.” she chided, not ungently, and something about Hypnos’ careful expression set Zagreus on edge, “Now is not the time to be reckless.” 

“Me? Reckless?” he smiled, and it was wrong, something about that smile was  _ wrong _ and Zagreus couldn’t place what it was until Hynpos raised his hand, “When have I ever been reckless in my life?” Zagreus realized what he was planning too late, his heart stopping dead in his chest as he surged forward despite knowing he’d be too late. 

_ “Don’t-“ _ he cried, arm outstretched to stop him, to restrain him _ , something, _ but for once Hypnos was quicker. A weak smile, a snap of his fingers, and Zagreus was asleep before he hit the ground.

—-

It was much brighter when he stirred, the entire glade bathed in a soft white light that set Zagreus’ heart at ease. He sighed softly, luxuriating in the floaty bliss of the uniquely restful sleep that only Hypnos could provide-

_ Hypnos _

He bolted upright, willing his head to stop spinning as clarity came flooding back, fear dousing him in cold water as he looked frantically around. Everyone else was asleep, slowly beginning to stir much like Zagreus. Something had clearly broken their forced slumber, and Zagreus didn’t know which possibility scared him more; that Hypnos had ended the spell himself, or that he had grown unable to sustain it. He lurched to his feet, stumbling with the loose-limbed weakness of waking too early, shaking his head to clear it as the others began to awaken with murmurs of confusion and annoyance. 

“Hypnos!” Zagreus snarled, weak and drowsy as he cast wildly around, letting out a sound of despair as his eyes finally found the source of the pale light. The entire pond was alight with a brilliant glow, the water seeming almost like the moon’s surface with how bright and white it was. And lying there, floating peacefully in the waist-deep water by Thanatos’ side, looking for all the world to be in a deep slumber, was Hypnos. 

“My son...” Nyx’s voice was hoarse, a far cry from her usual elegance as she knelt dazedly by the shore with wide, horrified eyes, realizing at last what had happened, “No... No! No, you little fool, come back here at once!”

“Hypnos!” Zagreus called vainly, charging forward to enter the pool, to get his best friend out of there, the drag him to safety and take on the sacrifice himself like he should have from the beginning, but he bounced painfully off of an invisible barrier, unable to step even a toe into the water. He snarled, pummeling the barrier with all of his might, feeling tears well in his eyes with every second it didn’t give. 

“It’s too late.” Megaera rasped even as she tore at the barrier with him, her eyes narrowed with something like grief as the light grew brighter despite their efforts, “It’s already accepted his offer.” Zagreus shook his head with wild denial, roaring as he slammed his fists against the barrier again and again, the trio forced to watch helplessly as the light swirled around Hypnos’ floating form, embracing him like an old friend as it seeped into his body. The glow intensified as it took whatever it wanted from the god of sleep, centralizing around his head like a halo before disengaging. They watched as the light drifted across the water towards Thanatos, leeching the white from Hypnos’ hair as it went. The color drained from the starry locks like blood on the Nile as the light carried it from Hypnos and sank into Thanatos, making the god of Death glow like starlight even as Hypnos’ hair was left black as a starless night. The light briefly pulsed, and a soft exhale passed through Hypnos’ lips, quiet as a prayer and final as a death knell. 

_ “Hypnos!” _ Nyx cried uselessly as the light vanished almost as quickly as it came, and Thanatos’ eyes snapped open with a painful gasp as he lurched upright, clutching at his chest as he hunched over, taking a moment to breathe and get his bearings, to figure out where he was and what must have happened. 

“Thanatos!” Nyx cried, starlit tears streaming down her face, uncaring of pride when her children were kept from her, “Thanatos, my dear, get Hypnos!” At his brother’s name, Thanatos glanced up at them in confusion before following Zagreus’ fixed gaze. When his eyes fell upon his motionless brother, he went still, not even seeming to breathe as he stared blankly at him, eyes wide and uncomprehending, as if he couldn’t register what he was seeing. The damnable barrier was still in place, and so Zagreus could do nothing but try to speak.

“Than-“ his raspy call was cut off as Thanatos made a sound like a dying animal, shooting to his feet and sloshing gracelessly over to gather his brother’s limp form up into his arms, lifting him from the water and holding him close with an air of desperation, uncaring of the water that soaked them both, uncaring of how it weighed them down. Hypnos looked so tiny in the cradle of Thanatos’ arms, and Zagreus was uncomfortably reminded of the depictions he’d seen of Andromeda’s body hanging limp from the sacrificial rock. 

“Hypnos!” Thanatos shook his brother’s still form, eyes wide and wild as he took in his slack face, his paler than normal skin, his newly dark hair,  _ “Hypnos! _ What did you... why am I... what did you do!? Wake up! Wake up, damn you,  _ speak _ to me!” Hypnos didn’t answer, didn’t even stir. He looked for all the world like he’d simply fallen into one of his deep sleeps, if not for the lack of movement, the lack of quiet snores, the lack of panicked waking at the first sign of noise. Thanatos looked at Nyx pleadingly, desperation plain in his face as he clutched his brother close, as if he could revive him with the warmth of his body alone, as if he could protect him from what had already come to pass. 

“Mother.” his voice broke, and the way he addressed her, forgetting all propriety in the face of overwhelming grief, broke Zagreus’ heart, “How could this... He isn’t  _ breathing, _ what… what  _ happened?” _

“You died, my child.” she whispered, pressing her hands against the barrier as if desperate to comfort him, “You died, and I was prepared to pay the price to get you back. He beat us to it.”

“How could you let him do this!?” Thanatos demanded, tears streaming from his eyes as his voice cracked, the first tears he had shed since his childhood now falling like stars onto his brother’s slack face. 

“He put us to sleep, Thanatos.” Megaera spoke up, her voice tight and wound like a lyre string, like she may snap at any moment. Her fists were clenched so tightly that Zagreus distantly feared she’d draw blood, “Cunning little shit knew we wouldn’t expect it. When we woke, it was too late.”

“Why is he not waking up?” Nyx whispered as Thanatos started slowly walking out of the pool, holding Hypnos securely to keep his hanging limbs from trailing in the water. As soon as he reached the barrier, it vanished, and the brothers were pulled into the arms of their worried loved ones, Nyx yanking both of her children into her embrace as Zagreus and Megaera encircled them all in a tight hug. Thanatos did not return the affectionate display, electing to set Hypnos on the grass between them with exceeding gentleness, refusing to let him go no matter how they tried to ply him. He tugged Hypnos closer with an arm around his thin shoulders, his free hand coming up to cup Hypnos’s pale face, tucking him into the crook of his neck like they were fledglings again, the look on his face so reminiscent of Orpheus that Zagreus felt physically ill. 

“Thanatos.” Nyx whispered, a terrible hope in her eyes as she laid her hands on Hypnos’ chest, desperately feeling for some sign of life, however small. But looking at Thanatos’ eyes, the hollow gaze of devastation, Zagreus knew with bone-deep certainty that she would not find one.

“He’s gone.” Thanatos whispered, his voice dull and hopeless like the depths of Tartarus, “My brother is gone.”


End file.
